Semiconductor processing apparatuses are used for performing various kinds of treatments, such as a film deposition on a surface of a semiconductor wafer and a dopant diffusion. Processing apparatuses of a stand-alone type have been primarily used. In a factory equipped with plural processing apparatuses of the stand-alone type, the processing apparatuses are independently controlled based on a control program and control data stored in each processing apparatus. The maintenance of the processing apparatuses is carried out one by one.
A control computer connected to plural processing apparatuses through a network to control the apparatuses is known. However, the computer merely gives instructions to the processing apparatuses.
Therefore, each processing apparatus must be provided with a controller having a high computing power, resulting in increase in a cost of each apparatus. In addition, the controller of the semiconductor processing apparatus is in need of periodic maintenance (specifically, calibration). Such maintenance must be done separately for each apparatus, and thus is time-consuming.